Teamsters, US Agree to End Federal Union Oversight

The Teamsters announced an agreement with the U.S. attorney in New York City that would end federal oversight of the union that began in 1989 due to past corruption issues.

The parties’ joint filing Jan. 14 still must be approved by U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska.

The 1989 agreement had “the objectives of ridding the [International Brotherhood of Teamsters] of any criminal element or organized crime and corruption and establishing a culture of democracy,” according to court documents posted last week on the union’s site.

An Independent Review Board was named in 1989 to oversee Teamsters compliance. After the judge’s approval, that board will be eliminated and replaced by an independent election oversight entity created by the union.



“The parties agree that there has been significant success in eliminating corruption within the IBT and in conducting free, open and democratic elections,” the new agreement said.

 

How We Covered It Then: From the March 20, 1989 issue of Transport Topics